Abbreviations and Acronyms

Many words are very popular in their Abbreviations and Acronyms , so much so that before long people tend to forget the full form of the word. However, in order to have a good command over the English language, it is essential that you know the full form of all abbreviated words. This chapter gives abbreviations that are either commonly used or are common in a particular field of activity.

Another dilemma that readers may face is whether to write abbreviations with or without full stops. Nowadays, abbreviations are increasingly being spelt without full stops when the words in question are spelt with all capital letters (AGM, TIE, VIP) or a mix of capital and small letters (BSc, Ms). But full stops are almost always used when the word is made up entirely of small letters (p.a., a.m., p.m.), since they are less easily recognisable as abbreviations rather than words in thi5 form. Shortened words or abbreviations consisting of the first few letters of words are generally spelt with a final full stop (co., Sept.).

Finally, if an abbreviation with a full stop occurs at the end of a sentence, another full stop is never added if the full stop of the abbreviation is the last character.

You are welcome to share your Abbreviations and Acronyms with the rest of the world by submitting them to us. We will add them in these lists.